Have you ever stopped to think that the world’s largest hospitality company, AirBnB, doesn’t actually own a single physical asset in the form of hotel rooms or buildings, but actually owns technology capable of making large international hotel chains, towers of hotel rooms and apartments, feel threatened?
The Uber case is even more iconic because the power of its software is so great that even violent reactions and protests by taxi drivers happen in many parts of the world.
So, do you want to understand the company digital transformation process?
According to one Harvard Business Review article, start with the following in mind: you need to reallocate your assets and invest in new business models based on digital assets.
Also see: Digital transformation strategy: Who and what areas are involved?
The five steps of the company digital transformation process
The article describes a company digital transformation process that the authors call PIVOT, an acronym that means:
- Pinpoint
- Inventory
- View
- Operate
- Track
See below, what to do in each of these company digital transformation process steps.
1- Pinpoint
Carefully define your current set of assets and what business model they provide.
This is your starting point: understand your business model: Do you sell B2B or B2C products? Or do you provide services? Do you produce raw materials? Or do you generate knowledge through research?
Precisely define what you do.
If you need, take a look at this article: Lean Business Model Canvas: For Every Type of Organization
2- Inventory of assets
What are your company’s assets? Start with what you are accustomed to dealing with, like factories, land, and equipment. Then move on to intangible assets such as the technical capacity and talent of your teams, the value of your brand, the reputation of your company and, above all, the network of contacts between people and organizations.
Assets related to relationship networks are the least noticeable and, in most cases, very badly managed.
At this point in the process, a company must focus its digital transformation process efforts in the search for valuable partnerships through networks of interested contacts.
3- Visualize a new digital future
Imagine how you can create a digital network where your company and its partners can collaborate and generate value together.
Most often it’s common to look at vendors and customers, but there are many other networking options that organizations can look for in order to promote the digital transformation process.
Distributors, investors, alumni (in the case of schools and universities). Discover how these networks can work together, using their assets in a coordinated way.
Additionally, don’t forget to take into account a very important point: which digital platform will provide this collaboration and joint creation of value?
4- Operate: start a pilot operation
Think lean and make a small amount of capital available to start putting your joint value creation idea into practice.
Consequently, to speed up the digital transformation process, experts recommend you dedicate a specific team to this and a defined physical space as well.
This team has a great responsibility in their hands and needs the freedom to act and think with creativity and agility, which generates more innovation for the organization.
It’s important to make sure that you’re creating a collaborative platform where everyone has the desire to create value together. Therefore, it’s essential to maintain direct and close contact with your network of interest.
5 – Track the evolution of the project
Tracking means defining specific KPIs for the new business model, the result of the company’s digital transformation process.
Control panels usually present metrics such as the number of interactions in the platform, the number of active digital partners and the value created, among others.
Additionally, don’t forget financial metrics like ROI, for example, and make sure to correct your path, whenever this need is detected.
The digital transformation process can be risky. However, a much greater risk is letting your competitors promote their own transformation before your business does.
Also see: Disruptive Business Models: The Magic Formula Revealed
To track KPIs and analyze them on dashboards, use process automation software like the intuitive and cloud-based HEFLO.